OpenAI data center financing: what a potential $500B+ buildout could mean for AI compute and builders

Nvidia is reportedly in talks to provide a financing guarantee that would help OpenAI lease a massive 10-gigawatt data center in southern Ohio, a project that could cost more than $500 billion overall. If realized, this would be one of the largest AI infrastructure projects ever proposed and could reshape how builders access AI compute.

What happened

According to The Wall Street Journal, Nvidia is considering a roughly $250 billion financing guarantee to back OpenAI's lease of a 10-gigawatt data center being developed in southern Ohio by an energy subsidiary of SoftBank. The proposed guarantee would cover the data center lease and related debt financing, but not the cost of Nvidia's AI chips. Separate financing for OpenAI's chip purchases could reach as much as $350 billion.

The first phase of the project is expected to come online in 2028, delivering about 800 megawatts of computing power. Electricity for the site would come from a U.S.-controlled power allocation backed by Japanese funding tied to a recent trade agreement and Tokyo's pledge to invest $33 billion in a natural gas plant. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has been involved in deciding access to that power supply.

While OpenAI is the leading contender for the project, Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google have also held discussions with Lutnick in recent weeks. Industry spending on AI infrastructure is expected to top $700 billion this year.

Why AI builders should care

For teams building AI products, this deal signals a potential shift in how large-scale compute is sourced and priced. If OpenAI secures its own infrastructure, it could reduce its dependence on cloud providers such as Microsoft, Amazon, and Oracle. That could change the competitive dynamics for API pricing and model availability.

For Nvidia, the financing guarantee would help lock in years of demand for its AI processors. That could influence chip supply, pricing, and access for builders deploying next-generation AI workloads. The structure of the deal, where Nvidia backs financing vehicles rather than paying for construction directly, is designed to reassure lenders and could set a precedent for future AI infrastructure capitalization.

Practical implications

The 800 MW first-phase target by 2028 suggests a rapid scaling trajectory for AI workloads. Builders should watch how this affects cloud provider pricing and availability of compute for training and inference.

The involvement of U.S. and Japanese financing mechanisms for power infrastructure shows that energy policy and international finance are becoming critical levers in AI data center development. This could create new constraints or opportunities for builders depending on geographic and regulatory factors.

Caveats

All figures are reported estimates and depend on ongoing negotiations and financing conditions. Details about exact ownership, deployment schedule, and governance of the power allocation are subject to change. While OpenAI is the leading prospective beneficiary, other major tech firms have been involved in discussions, but concrete commitments may not be finalized.